Exemplar House: 33rd Lane, Bagatelle Road. Project 1B.

Designed by renowned arhcitect Geoffrey Bawa, 33rd Lane, Bagatelle Road was an ongoing project that Bawa had made for himself since moving into the cul-de-sac in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1959.

Having only owned the 3rd of the 4 Units that existed on the site, Bawa converted his dwelling into a place that contained a small kitchen and sitting room, a room for himself, and a room for his manservant, Miguel.

Soon Bawa realised the potential for the units, and sought the commune with his landlord, who sold him the unit and the others when the tenants moved out, with the first tenant moving out in 1961, until he acquired the other two bungalows in the beginning of 1968.

Bawa began with opening the 3rd Bungalow's wall to create living space and aguest suite. Bawa continued his renovation by demolishing the first bungalow and replacing it with a four storey that has a car port at the ground floor. Finally, for the first series of changes, Bawa made the side lane redundant, and made the lane's entire space an entranceway to the rear of the house.

Close to four decades went by and extensive changes made by Bawa ensured, unpurposefully, that the past identity of the original bungalows would be all but indistinguishable. And with that, Bawa resolved his masterpiece in 1998.

33rd Lane as an Environmental Filter

Ground Floor Plan

Throughout the entirety of 33rd Lane, there are various 'greener' areas, where gardens reside. Although the house does not 'filter' the surrounding environment, these green areas are part of the house, rather than the house being a part of the site.

Such notions are easily verified, as there are several green areas, rather than a solid 'backyard' that common western houses have. At that, there are some areas that can only be accessed through one door, or one room, making them private in compariosn to the others.

Critical Section

South Elevation

33rd Lane as a container for Human Activities

The spaces that surround the green places in 33rd lane's layout consist of 2 large bedrooms, a smaller bedroom, places for preparing food, places for sitting and relaxing, spaces for dining and spaces for breathing the natural atmosphere the earth offers the house.

Upper Floor Plans

3D Sketch

33rd Lane as a Delightful Experience

33rd Lane offers a range of different environments within and without itself, where there are spots for seclusion, for broadcast, for relaxing, and for work. Each of these spaces are complimented with familiar structural elements such as masonry and render work that is common with the style of the location, with Green shrubbery to contrast with the white render that the house adorns itself with.

Site Plan

Jayawardene, Shanti. 1986. Geoffrey Bawa of Sri Lanka. In MIMAR 19: Architecture in Development. Singapore: Concept Media Ltd.

Robson, David. 2001. Genius of the Place: The Buildings and Landscapes of Geoffrey Bawa. In Modernity and Community: Architecture in the Islamic World. Thames & Hudson and The Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 17-48.

Robson, David. 2002. Geoffrey Bawa: The Complete Works. London: Thames and Hudson